As a guy who has advocated Joe Banyard, it’s becoming clear with the lack of playing time, the coaching staff don’t believe he is ready for a heavier workload.

Next in line for more touches is newcomer Ben Tate. The former second round pick definitely has the ability to be the feature back. This season in limited playing time, he had a two touchdown game and a career rushing gaming of 136 yards. The key word to the last sentence, “limited”. Tate has missed 3 games season, 8 the previous 3 seasons.

It’s a shame, at 5-10, 220 he’s got the ideal build for an NFL back who can be leaned upon. He’s got the thick legs, not too tall of a target too hit. I call it the “Emmitt Smith” mold. He’s got the stout build that maximizes the power of low center of gravity. This helps the runner churn out yards by moving a pile comprised of 300+ pound men (aka the cliché, falling forward). At the same time this type of runner is hard to see around the line of scrimmage because of his stature, which gives the runner a split second advantage to hit an open hole.

Adrian Peterson was more of the Eric Dickerson mold, tall and freakishly athletic and physical. Unfortunately those type of runners typically aren’t as durable. Peterson and Dickerson are the exception, not the norm.

In this case, past history tells us that Ben Tate is the one who probably won’t be able to hold up during the regular season if counted on as a full time starter. What will be the solution for 2015? My prediction, Ben Tate is the starter and plays about 55-60% of the time. The other side of that running back by committee, 2014 3rd round pick Jerrick Mckinnon. Tate will bring the clock killing hammer and Mckinnon the flashing big play ability.

I had the good fortune to meet John Madden at the Super Bowl when the game was played at the Metrodome. Madden was at the top of his broadcasting prowess, he was calling the game with Pat Summerall. They were the NFL’s trusted voice of football.

When I ran into John Madden I asked him a few questions about the game, the league, and of course, about the Vikings. It was the end of the Jerry Burns era and the Vikings finished 8-8, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year. I wasn’t surprised that he said he thought the Vikings would be going through a rebuilding period under Denny Green. I mentioned, “How about the emerging, young players that came on for the Vikings: Cris Carter, Rich Gannon, Terry Allen, and John Randle?” Madden shook his head and stated that they just don’t have enough blue chip talent. It was hard to criticize Madden’s take. Rich Gannon was still a young quarterback (who wound up developing late), Cris Carter was a mid-season pickup off the waivers, Terry Allen was a 9th round pick with 2 surgically repaired knees, and although Randle collected 9.5 sacks that season, he still was a relative unknown in the pre-Twitter era.

In Green’s rookie season, all those players stepped up. Gannon wound up being benched late in the season, but contributed heavily to the Vikings 11 regular season wins. Randle picked up 11.5 sacks, Terry Allen had a monster 1,200 rushing yard, 13 touchdown season, and of course it was the beginning of Cris Carter’s hall of fame career as a Minnesota Viking.

Those winds of change are certainly returning. Teddy Bridgewater will be the starting quarterback for at least the near future. Everson Griffin is stepping forward like John Randle did. And the Vikings might be seeing other emerging players on their own roster fill the void like that 1992 team. Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright have come up with big games recently. Both have shown the potential to make big plays. In the background are young talents like Cordarrelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph. We have yet to see their best seasons. At running back, the 1992 team said good bye to the high profile Herschel Walker. The Vikings will most likely be doing the same next year with Adrian Peterson and have stocked their backfield with diverse talents. The front runner is young veteran, Ben Tate. The Vikings will work the committee and hope to get proven contributors like that 1992 season.

The phrase history repeats itself is very appropriate here. The Vikings are trying to finish the season with 8 or 9 wins. More importantly there are some on the current roster trying to prove their talents can be leaned upon for future playoff runs.

The Vikings resurgence on defense has been highlighted by a few individuals. But the player who has come through the most for the Vikings is Everson Griffen. He recently signed a multi-year contract, with $20 million guaranteed. He plays a position that requires a strong pash presence, especially in the quaterback strong NFC North. Thus far in 2014, Griffen has responded. He is currently 7th in the NFL in sacks with 11.

The Vikings were fortunate Griffen responded, he was a bit of the gamble by General Manager, Rick Spielman. Griffen started his Vikings career as a fourth round pick with high upside and off the field red flags. The Vikings were still trying to incorporate a culture of responsibility, brought on by then head coach Brad Childress. Spielman, however knew that starting left end Ray Edwards was going to leave in free agency and it was time to bring in young talent. Ironically, the “success” of Edwards Vikings career allowed for the Griffen draft decision easy. Edwards wasn’t a major problem with the Vikings and the team gambled that Griffen would not be either.

He displayed flashes of big play ability in the 2011 season with 4 sacks and became an interesting front 7 OLB/DE hybrid for Leslie Frasier. This was a compliment to Griffen’s athletic and playmaking abilities, as Frasier typically preaches fundamentals over exotic looks and blitzes. He rewarded Frasier’s willingness to use him in creative ways in 2012 with 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 3 pass defenses, and 1 interception. As his state line shows, he affected opposing offenses in many ways. Perhaps he was the early inspiration on how Green Bay uses Julius Peppers in 2014.

As great as Griffen was in a utility role, the Vikings needed to use his pass rushing skills exclusively when they declined to resign Viking defensive end great, Jared Allen. Could Griffen succeed as a permanent fixture at the right defensive end where offenses can scheme where he would be on most plays regularly? In the first year of his $42.5 million dollar contract, the answer is a resounding yes. Everson Griffen continues to make Rick Spielman look smart.

Former Vikings coach, Denny Green used to say that a successful modern NFL passing offense was comprised of a tall quarterback throwing to tall receivers. Green successfully translated that model with the likes Brad Johnson to Cris Carter, Randall Cunningham and then Daunte Culpepper to Randy Moss.

Several head coaching changes later and it may be time for the Vikings to re-implement Denny’s model. It’s not a completely unique one. Norv Turner had tall receivers in Dallas with Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek. In San Diego, he had Antonio Gates and Vincent Jackson.

In theory, the tall receiver can help improve a quarterback’s accuracy. Bridgewater has struggled as of late hitting wide receivers, but in the last 3 games has completed 17 of 24 passes to the tight end position for a 71% completion rate. Note the Vikings don’t have a tight end shorter than 6’5.

Jerrick McKinnon has high athletic upside. He will probably lead the Vikings running back by committee approach for the foreseeable future, but if the Vikings want to hang tough with the Packers in week 12, they will have to give Joe Banyard an extended look.

In the first half Banyard converted on two third downs, gritting out a 3rd and 2 rush and a 3rd and 6 dump off pass where he had to carry the defender past the third down marker. Both plays were a flashback to a typical 2005 Mo Williams play, tough yards, positive plays. In the game within a game construct, the Vikings would be wise to see if they can spark the running game with a change.

At this point McKinnon has not punished defenders by finishing off runs or made long sideline runs. Not a good combination.

Les Steckel was Bud Grant’s successor and it was a disaster. The young, unconventional coach was 3-13 in his only season. It was so bad, the Vikings brought Bud Grant back to get the team out of the abyss and in the right direction. Steckel turned off veterans with his abrasive motivational tactics and had a revolving door at the starting quarterback spot, as Tommy Kramer, Wade Wilson, and Archie Manning all had significant playing time in the 1984 season.

The Vikings head coach for the latter part of the 80s was an underrated offensive mind. 49ers hall of fame coach, Bill Walsh, even credited Jerry Burns influence for his famed West Coast offense. Burns had a good offensive team, but couldn’t find a steady hand at quarterback where the Vikings alternated from Tommy Kramer to Wade Wilson and then to Rich Gannon. The Vikings defense, under Floyd Peters would consistently rank in the top ten in total defense and sacks. Unfortunately for Burns, the Vikings played in the golden era of the 49ers dynasty. Twice they were stopped by the Bill Walsh led team in the divisional playoffs. Both times, the 49ers went on to win the Super Bowl. Burnsie was a solid and underrated head coach. The Vikings were fortunate to have him as a successful bridge from the Bud Grant era to the Dennis Green era.

The most iconic figure in Minnesota Vikings history was Bud Grant. The Vikings built up slowly, but once his teams hit stride, they were consistent winners for over two decades. Bud Grant led the Vikings to an NFL Championship season, 4 NFC Championship wins, and 4 Super Bowl trips. He did so with a gutsy CFL veteran in Joe Kapp, and later Fran Tarkenton, who returned after a stint with the New York Giants.

BEST TEAM: 1969 Vikings won the last NFL Championship prior to the NFL/AFL merger. They Were 12-2 and heavy Super Bowl favorites. They lost in Super Bowl 4, 23-7 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

The mnvikingsblog.com will revisit the previous head coaching regimes of the Minnesota Vikings, starting with their first, former Rams and Eagles standout quarterback, Norm Van Brocklin.

Norm Van Brocklin was a very good NFL player. Unfortunately that did not translate into a lot of wins. His Vikings teams only experienced one winning season. Frequently at odds with his young quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, Van Brocklin lasted only 6 seasons. It was a tough era for an NFL expansion team as the 60s belonged to powerhouse teams like the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers.

How does Mike Zimmer compare to previous Vikings head coaches? In his first year at the helm, our staff sized up some general comparisons. He is less stoic than Bud Grant, but has less personality than Jerry Burns (Burnsie could be an NFL all-timer when it comes to that category). And even though both coaches seem to have similar starts, Zimmer seems to have a more organized vision than Mike Tice. After each loss, whether a squeaker or a blowout, Tice would generally answer “We didn’t make enough plays”. If it were Bill Belichick making that statement, we would say the coach was just being coy and cliché. Instead you get the feeling that Tice’s Vikings were just a big play dependent bunch. And for roughly 50% of the time it kind of worked (32-33 in the regular season, 1-1 in the playoffs).

However, an old Vikings coach Mike Zimmer may resemble the most is the guy Vikings fan cringe when brought up, Brad Childress. Like the rookie season Childress had, Zimmer is experiencing growing pains, but the team has been relatively “tough to beat”. Like that 2006 season, the Vikings however, were unable to win the close games with regularity. In Childress’s rookie year, the Vikings went 6-10 after a 4-2 start. This year’s Vikings team may not experience that hard of a pendulum swing.

Thus far Zimmer is relying on a fierce, aggressive pass rush on defense. Meanwhile on the offensive side of the ball, Norv Turner is tasked to continue positive growth for rookie quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater and some creative duct taping of the offensive personnel losing Adrian Peterson and several other opening day starters. Factor that in and it would be a considerable success if they finished with 7 or 8 wins.

If Zimmer does indeed follow the Brad Childress path, it may not be a bad thing. After all it was not necessarily the wins and losses that did “Chilly” in, it was the likeability factor. Who else would get fired a year after they led a team to the NFC championship?